The Phillies are now entering a new season as Spring Training is now underway. The state of the Phillies looked bleak months ago. But there is hope, even in their division which is now the best in baseball. The Phillies ended last season on a collapse, they had a disappointing bullpen, and an uncertain future with top players JT Realmuto and Didi Gregorius becoming free agents. The bullpen and back end of the starting rotation was in shambles.

Consequently, the Phillies made the decision to fire their GM and President of baseball operations. They brought in two time World Series winning executive Dave Dombrowski. The moves that needed to be made happened, JT signed for five years 115.5 million dollars, a price fit for the best catcher in all of baseball. They signed Didi for two years and 28 million dollars. They have signed multiple new arms for the pitching staff and they have not traded any top prospects, which was important. The biggest reliever they signed was Archie Bradley for a one-year, nine-million dollar contract. Several minor deals with different pitchers at cheap prices have helped the Phillies get depth in the bullpen.

The biggest remaining question mark is the Center Field position, which is going to be fought for by three or four players. Scott Kingery, Roman Quinn, and Adam Hasely all have upside and can be the starting CF, but there can be only one. One wrinkle was thrown into this however, as the controversial Odubel Herrara may be able to try to make the roster. The Phillies signed fan favorite slugger Brad Miller to sure up the bench hitting. In an off-season where the Phillies lost a lot of money and were not expected to pay much either, they spent the second highest amount of money and now have the fourth highest payroll. The Phillies are here to contend. Overall, this off-season has been very successful for what the Phillies needed to accomplish; the team looks to be very competitive this year, but the strength of the overall division promises a rocky road ahead. So now all we have to do is enjoy the ride.